The present invention is concerned with an analytical device and more particularly with a method for the rapid detection of microorganisms from an isolating medium, that is to say the enabling of a diagnosis by a process of elimination in the case of a search for a particular microbe.
It is known in the art that reactions of bacteria in a liquid nutritive medium can take place in test tubes, with the liquid medium necessary for the growth of bacteria having been freshly prepared just prior to the reaction. Furthermore, certain reactions, such as bacterial reactions in a urea-indole medium, denature the reaction medium, which eliminates the possibility of conductiong other reactions in the same medium at a later time. These reactions, have the further disadvantage of occurring very slowly. The reading of a reaction in a urea-indole medium for example is only possible after about four hours. Other reactions are achieved by immersing reactive test strips in the test tubes. This procedure presents the inconvenience because it necessitates a dense medium and equally because it denatures the reaction medium, which as mentioned above prevents the medium from being utilized further.
The present invention substantially alleviates the aforementioned problems by providing an analytical device including a test strip which enables the obtaining of rapid results and enables the bacteria being tested to effect the ultimate reactions in liquid media. The present invention is also concerned with a process for determining a microorganism such as a bacterium and a novel cover for glass ampules.